FELONY

3 stars (out of 5)

Joel Edgerton wrote, co-produced and stars in this Sydney-shot, cop-intensive drama that features some strong playing and toys with meaty themes about morality and responsibility, but it’s somehow never as arresting as it really should be.

Detective Malcolm Toohey (Joel) concludes a major drug operation, gets shot (in his bulletproof vest) on the way and, to celebrate, has a big boozy night out with the boys. Evading an RBT with a secret password (really?), he’s almost home at 5am or so when he hits a young lad on a bike with his car, and while he’s virtuous enough to immediately call 000, he lies about his involvement. By sheer chance, a pair of nearby detectives tracking a pedophile (a plot thread that seems to mean a lot but eventually gets forgotten) are on the scene quickly and, apparently, the elder of the two, Carl Summer (English actor Tom Wilkinson), helps Malcolm get away with a fake breath test and other lies. However, the younger detective, Jim Melic (Jai Courtney), isn’t so convinced of Malcolm’s innocence and starts to snoop, much to Carl’s annoyance, and these three men begin a complex struggle about who’s going to rat on whom, who’s going to take the blame and who’s going to try to save the film.

Directed by Matthew Saville in his first actual feature since 2007’s underappreciated Noise, this has good work from Joel, Tom and Jai (Melissa George doesn’t survive this Boys Club and is weepily wasted as Malcolm’s missus) and a surprisingly dim view of the police, but nevertheless, it never properly catches fire. Still, it’s a fair cop, Your Honour.